TAIF — The Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIP) has released on bail five of the seven suspects detained over the harassment of a girl outside a mall in Taif last week. A BIP source said police managed to arrest the suspects a day after a video of the incident went viral on social media websites. The video showed a young man trying to grope the girl while she was leaving the mall. “The video showed two men chasing a girl as she walked out of a shopping center shouting profanities. It went viral on social media sites, causing public outrage and abhorrence,” said the source. He said police managed to identify seven suspects by analyzing the video and consulting footage from the shopping center's surveillance cameras. “Although the video only showed two men, the police found out that five other men were at the scene and encouraged the act, instead of preventing it. In one footage, police were able to clearly see the face of one of the suspects who got into an argument with a security guard,” said the source. He said after days of investigations and interrogations the bureau decided to grant bail to the five suspects who were not in the video. “Since the video did not document any of the five committing an offensive act, the bureau decided to release them from detention under a number of conditions," the source said. "Their guardians were allowed to bail them out but they should respond to summons from the authorities at anytime." The source said the video clearly showed the other two suspects harassing the girl. “The bureau has decided to charge them with harassment as there is clear evidence against them," he said.
